A specific data processing application is often implemented by a data processor with dedicated internal hardware that executes particular instructions within a minimum number of instruction cycles. One such specific data processing application is in the field of Digital Signal Processing (DSP). Commonly utilized instructions in the field of DSP include, but are not limited to, a loop instruction and a conditional branch instruction. A common loop instruction is a do-loop instruction. For example, a do-loop instruction which is implemented in hardware is taught by Linde in U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,074 entitled "Do Loop Circuit." When executed, the do-loop instruction repeatedly executes predetermined instructions a predetermined number of times. Since a looping instruction is a commonly utilized instruction in a DSP application, it is advantageous for a data processor utilized for DSP applications to process a do-loop in a minimum number of instruction cycles. After a data processor begins executing a do loop, a conditional branch instruction is commonly used for the purpose of exiting the looping prior to full completion. A conditional branch instruction is a commonly utilized DSP instruction. It also is desired to minimize the necessary instruction cycles for executing a conditional branch instruction. When a conditional branch is executed within a do loop, additional instruction cycles are typically required for instruction completion. Instructions for implementing DSP functions are typically not complied, wherein "compiled" refers to calculating function-specific target addresses. Compilers are not typically used in DSP applications in order to save instruction memory space. In summary, a need exists to process commonly utilized DSP instructions, such as a do-loop and a conditional branch instruction, that are not necessarily compiled and within a minimum number of instruction cycles.